Greetings!
Welcome to the Academic Affairs newsletter. Browse updates and announcements, connect to tips and resources, and check out stories from around campus.
Message from EVC Simmons
Dear Colleagues,

UC San Diego is widely recognized for tremendous accomplishments in research, innovation, and the arts; for employing a successful cross-campus collaboration to address the pandemic in Return to Learn; for compassionate support of vulnerable communities; and for providing an outstanding education to an increasingly diverse student population. Nonetheless, an array of reviews, including our reaccreditation report and our regular surveys of students and employees, have highlighted key areas where we can improve. The largest opportunity for improvement lies in unifying our many efforts to make members of the university feel informed, mentored, valued, heeded, and enabled to do their best work.  

Indeed, one of the most striking lessons from Return-to-Learn has been the impact of the many instances where individuals and groups from across the university united to jointly transition to the remote environment or to create innovative solutions for unfamiliar challenges. The examples span everything from teaching and summer programming to student recruitment and onboarding to health and safety initiatives to communication and strategic planning. They demonstrate that by aligning our unique efforts, we can achieve our aspirations for improving the university experience and promoting student, staff, and faculty success.

Recently, my office hosted an inaugural Forum on the Future of Academic Affairs, focused on the power of using an approach called Collective Impact to collaborate more intentionally on issues of mutual interest.  Leaders from many different areas gave “lightning talks” illustrating their work and participated in breakout discussions about future directions.  I invite you to review the presentations here and to learn more about our Collective Impact approach here – and to contact my office at CollectiveImpact@ucsd.edu to learn more about how you might get involved.

Best regards,

Elizabeth H. Simmons
February is Black History Month

Join in UC San Diego’s celebration of Black History Month with events including film screenings, musical performances, discussions and more. The lineup of 2022 campus events will focus on the theme, “Black Health and Wellness.” For a full listing of events and more information, please visit blackhistorymonth.ucsd.edu. As part of the month-long celebrations, you are invited to register for the 20th Anniversary Black History Month Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Feb. 25. The virtual celebration will feature recognition of Black student scholars, an inspirational keynote speaker and musical entertainment. Register: tinyurl.com/BHM-2022REG
Call for Hellman Fellows

The 2022-23 academic year marks the 28th anniversary of the Society of Hellman Fellows Program at UC San Diego, which was established in 1995 through the generosity of the Hellman Family. This valuable program is designed to provide financial support and encouragement to assistant professors in the core disciplines who show capacity for great distinction in their research and creative activities. Funds awarded are primarily intended to enhance the individual's progress toward tenure. Therefore, faculty must have served at least two years as an assistant professor, as of July 1, 2022, but not yet have been recommended for tenure. 

Additional details concerning the criteria for the awards, the application process, the online application form, and the Chair Evaluation form which are available on the Society of Hellman Fellows website.
International Student Pre-Arrival and Early Start Program Information from ISPO

The International Students & Programs Office (ISPO) is currently preparing to issue visa documents for our Fall 2022 newly-admitted international students. Newly-admitted international students may begin their visa document requests via the iPortal starting March 1, 2022. Students should wait 24-48 hours after accepting their offer of admission before attempting to log in. 

If your department plans to run an in-person Summer 2022 early start or prep program that requires international participants to arrive prior to August 20, 2022, please notify ISPO by completing the Early Start Program Form no later than March 7, 2022. 

UC San Diego faculty and staff can visit the Campus Partners page for more information. Departments receiving questions from incoming international students can refer them to the Newly Admitted International Students page on ISPO’s website.
Upcoming Town Halls

The next Faculty & Research Town Hall will be held Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. Hosted by Elizabeth H. Simmons, Executive Vice Chancellor and Corinne Peek-Asa, Vice Chancellor of Research, the event will be moderated by Robert Continetti, Sr. Associate Vice Chancellor – Academic Affairs.

The next Staff Town Hall will be held Friday, Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m., moderated by Hallie Nicholson, HR Strategic Communication and Engagement Manager. 
Art of Science Initiative Now Open
Data curators at the UC San Diego Library have the privilege of working with researchers from a wide range of scientific disciplines as they prepare data for the Library’s Research Data Collections repository. This inspired them to launch the Library’s Art of Science initiative, an art contest rooted in the beauty that can emerge from scientific research. UC San Diego researchers and students are invited to submit their works for consideration through March 4. Winners will be announced in early May. More information on the contest as well as the prizes each winner will take home at http://lib.ucsd.edu/artofscience.
New Finance Help Line Available

In support of delivering improved financial systems support for our campus community, Business and Financial Services has launched a new one-stop destination for assistance, the UC San Diego Finance Help Line. The Finance Help Line is a new one-stop destination in the form of a support line staffed by knowledgeable representatives, providing simplified and improved service for inquiries related to financial operations, accounting, and sponsored projects research in addition to our existing procurement, payables and travel teams.

You can reach the Finance Help Line at (858) 246-4237. For more information on call line options and operation hours, please refer to the quick guide on the Support Framework Blink webpage.
Apply for the Staff Association Scholarship

The UC San Diego Staff Association scholarship program is intended to support career advancement efforts and provide an opportunity to be reimbursed up to a maximum of $500 for any career employee. The program is open to all career employees and the scholarship funds can be used toward a professional development activity which requires a fee. Submit your application by Tuesday, March 15. Learn more about the Staff Association scholarship program.
Upcoming Chat with AVC Paul Roben

Join Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Commercialization Paul Roben for an informal, virtual Coffee Chat to ask your questions about patents, licensing, invention reporting, and educational programming on campus. The chat will take place on Wed., Feb. 23, 2022, from Noon to 1 p.m. Register for the event online.
Do you Adore Data? Participate in UC Love Data Week!

The UC San Diego Library invites you to participate in UC Love Data Week, Feb. 14-18, 2022. UC Love Data Week is a collaborative conference organized by all 10 UC Libraries and consists of over 30 different talks, presentations and workshops. Whether you are working on quantitative or qualitative data, there’s plenty to choose from! For more information and to register for a specific workshop, please visit the UC Love Data Week website: https://bit.ly/UC-LDW
Upcoming Staff Development Learning Boost Series Event: "Resiliency in the Age of Uncertainty"

Register for this learning and development event hosted by Pierre Khawand, CEO of People-OnTheGo. During the session, Pierre will share his insights and stories about resiliency in this age of uncertainty in this upcoming staff development event on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. Do you find it hard to feel invigorated, motivated, and focused? Are your worries making it hard for you to stay calm? Turn these challenges into opportunities by leveraging the latest technologies and tools to foster creativity and innovation and help your team and organization skillfully collaborate and solve problems.
When Job Seekers are "Overqualified," Gender Bias May...

When you're looking for a job, any number of factors can work against you. When you're passed over for a job you seek because you're told you're "overqualified" it may be initially flattering, but it's most likely not what you want to hear.

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